System and method for estimating the geographic location of an internet user

ABSTRACT

A system and method of estimating an Internet user&#39;s geographic location is disclosed. The method includes tracking the Internet user&#39;s visits to at least one Internet site promoting a business having a business geographic location to define a visited Internet site, determining the business geographic location of the business promoted by the visited Internet site to define a matched business location, and estimating the Internet user&#39;s geographic location to be at least adjacent to the matched business location.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a system and methodfor estimating the geographic location of an Internet user and, moreparticularly, to a system and method for displaying Internet searchresults found by a search engine that are geographically relevant to theInternet searcher.

[0002] The development of the Internet and the World Wide Web (the“web”) has allowed Internet users to access information from around theworld with unfettered ease. Information can now be accessed in seconds.To assist in locating specific information, it is well known that searchengines can be used to search for documents or web sites of interest toan Internet user. However, it has become increasingly difficult to findnot just relevant information in terms of content, but also as to thegeographic location of the Internet user.

[0003] For example, an Internet user in need of car repair conducting akeyword search in San Francisco for “automobile repair” may find theresults containing information for automobile repair shops in Florida.Generally, in order for the user to determine where the automobilerepair shop is located, the user would need to review each web sitedisplayed in the returned results list. Since the Internet user isprobably not interested in automobile repair shops in Florida, sortingthrough the results to find a web site that provides services or goodslocated near the user, in this situation San Francisco, can becumbersome.

[0004] This problem is exasperated with well-known “pay-per-click”search engines, where web site owners pay a fee each time an Internetsearcher clicks on a hyperlinked advertisement or search result, therebyforwarding the searcher to the web site owner's web site. Currentlythere are no methods to verify that an Internet user following thehyperlink is geographically near the web site owner, and thus capable ofusing the goods or services of the web site owner. As such, web siteowners must pay for Internet users who view their web site though a“pay-per-click” search engine, even though the user is notgeographically capable to use the web site owner's goods or services.For example, a doctor specializing in laser eye surgery in the Chicagoarea who actively bids for the keywords “laser eye surgery” through a“pay-per-click” search engine cannot limit his advertising specificallyto Internet searchers in the Chicago area, and thus wastes money bybeing displayed and viewed by someone in Los Angeles. Even though theInternet user in Los Angeles could not use the services of the doctor inChicago, the doctor must still pay for the user viewing his site via the“pay-per-click” searching system.

[0005] It is well known that a geographic location of an Internetprotocol address (“IP address”) can be approximated. U.S. Pat. No.6,377,961 teaches the use of a method for accomplishing this. However,this method is limited to providing a geographic estimate of thecountry, or possibly the state, for the server on which a web siteresides. As such, this method of estimating geographic location has manylimitations. For example, it is plausible that when an Internet useraccesses the Internet, his Internet Access Provider randomly assigns himan IP address. This random assignment has absolutely no bearing upon thelocation of the Internet user. As such, an Internet user in New York maybe assigned an IP address by his Internet Access Provider that islocated in California. In such a scenario, even though the user islocated in New York, his assigned IP address may indicate he is locatedin California.

[0006] It is also well-known that an Internet user's location can beapproximated by tracing the user's IP address through a trace routefunction that is capable of tracing the user's route through variousInternet servers to narrow the user's location. However, a limitation tosuch a method is that it consumes time and vast bandwidth to accuratelyapproximate a user's location.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system andmethod of reliably estimating an Internet user's geographic location.

[0008] It is a further object of the present invention to provide asystem and method for displaying Internet search results that aregeographically relevant to the searcher.

[0009] Yet another object of the present invention is to control thegeographic designation a web site may have, thus ensuring that onlygeographically prospective Internet users may view the web site.

[0010] The present application discloses a unique and novel method andsystem for estimating the geographic location of an Internet user. Themethod includes tracking the Internet user's visits to at least oneInternet site promoting a business having a geographic location,determining what the geographic location of that business is, andestimating the Internet user's geographic location to be at leastadjacent to the geographic location of the business promoted by thevisited Internet site. Once the geographic location of the Internet useris estimated, the information may be compiled within a database andaccessed via a cookie disposed on the Internet user's computer forfuture reference.

[0011] To determine the business geographic location of the visitedInternet site, the method may include a look-up database havingrespective business geographic location information for a plurality ofInternet sites. As such, when the Internet user visits an Internet site,the visited Internet site can be cross-matched to geographic locationinformation for that particular Internet site in the look-up database.

[0012] In an embodiment, the present application also includes a methodof receiving a search request from the Internet user and providing asearch results list based upon the estimated geographic location of theInternet user. As such, only geographically relevant businesses promotedon Internet sites will be provided to the Internet user via the searchresults list. A “pay-per-click” system, where each respective Internetsite may be geographically categorized and prioritized based upon theamount of money each Internet site is willing to pay in order to bedisplayed, may also be provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The present application discloses a system and method forestimating the geographic location of an Internet user. The methodincludes tracking the Internet sites that promote a business, includinggoods or services, that the Internet user visits to define at least onevisited Internet site, determining the approximate or actual geographiclocation of the business that is promoted by the visited Internet siteto define a matched business location, and then estimating the Internetuser's location to be at least adjacent to the matched businesslocation.

[0014] As such, the present application uses the theory that, in orderto initially estimate the Internet user's location, the Internet user isvisiting Internet sites that promote businesses that have geographicrelevance to the Internet user. While it is anticipated that theInternet user may visit a plurality of Internet sites, some promoting abusiness having a geographic location not relevant to the Internet user,it will be appreciated that the quantitative teaching of Internet sitesvisited would conclude that the most common geographic location of thebusinesses is probably the geographic location of the Internet user. Forexample, if an Internet user visits five Internet sites, four of thesites promoting businesses in San Francisco and the remaining sitepromoting a business in New York, the calculated business geographiclocation would be San Francisco since it was the most common geographiclocation associated with the visited Internet sites.

[0015] In an embodiment, a look-up database may be provided thatincludes respective business geographic location information for aplurality of Internet sites. An operator, owner or some one elseassociated with the Internet site or the business promoted on theInternet site may dictate the actual or wanted business geographiclocation information that is input into the database. In such anembodiment, the respective business geographic location of the visitedInternet sites may be determined by matching each visited Internet siteto an Internet site in the database, thereby defining a matched Internetsite, and consequently equating that visited Internet site's businessgeographic location to be the same as the business geographic locationof the matched Internet site. If there are greater than three visitedInternet sites, the matched business location can be determined bycalculating the most common matched business geographic location.

[0016] A method of tracking or calculating the amount of time theInternet user visits an Internet site may also be employed. It will thusbe appreciated that Internet sites that are not viewed for a fixedamount of time by the Internet user will be disregarded in estimatingthe Internet user's geographic location because such Internet siteswould be deemed not geographically relevant to the Internet user. Othermethods may be employed in determining if an Internet user is interestedin a specific Internet site, such as calculating or tracking the amountof internal hyperlinks the Internet user follows.

[0017] In an embodiment, once the Internet user's geographic location isestimated, a cookie having a unique identifier may be disposed on theInternet user's computer system. A database may then be provided tostore the estimated geographic location of the Internet user andcorrelate or associate it to the cookie in a well-known manner. As such,each subsequent time the Internet user accesses the Internet, the cookiewill readily determine the Internet user's estimated geographiclocation. It will be appreciated that the Internet user database will bedynamic in that the estimated geographic location of the Internet usermay change if, for example, the estimated geographic location isdifferent than that stored within the Internet user database.

[0018] In an embodiment, after estimating the Internet user's geographiclocation, an Internet search request may be received from the Internetuser and only geographically relevant Internet sites, or Internet sitespromoting a business having a geographic location at least adjacent tothe Internet user's estimated geographic location, are displayed to theInternet user via a search results list. In another embodiment, anInternet search request received from the Internet user may create asearch results list that prioritizes the returned Internet sites basedupon the geographic relevance of each respective Internet site to theestimated geographic location of the Internet user.

[0019] In yet another embodiment, a “pay-per-click” system may beemployed. In such an embodiment, promoters or owners of businessespromoted on respective Internet sites may bid for prioritization in ageographically relevant search results list. Further, the promoter orowner may select which Internet users, based primarily upon estimatedgeographic location, may access the Internet site. For example, thepromoter or owner, promoting a business in Chicago, may restrict itsInternet site to only be displayed in a search results list where theInternet user's estimated geographic location is Chicago. In such anembodiment, the promoter or owner thus decreases the amount of Internetusers that do not have the probability of using the promoted business”goods or services due to geographic distances between the Internet userand the business.

[0020] It will be appreciated that the benefits of the presentapplication apply to any type of search engine and is not necessarilylimited to “pay-per-click” systems. It will further be appreciated thatthe present application provides benefits not only to the businesses orInternet sites being displayed in the search results list in the form ofincreased visibility, but also to the Internet user in that the amountof time necessary to locate geographically relevant businesses orInternet sites is dramatically reduced.

[0021] In another embodiment, a method of displaying geographicallyrelevant Internet search results based upon the geographic location ofan Internet user is disclosed. The method includes providing a databasehaving respective business geographic location information for aplurality of Internet sites, determining the geographic location of theInternet user, receiving an Internet search request from the Internetsearch user, and displaying search results for Internet sites having ageographic business location adjacent to the geographic location of theInternet user.

[0022] The respective business geographic location information mayinclude allowing the Internet site operator specify the businessgeographic location information. The geographic location of the Internetuser be determined by allowing the Internet user to manually specify thegeographic location of the Internet user. Once the geographic locationof the Internet user has been determined, it may be stored within adatabase and a complementary cookie having a unique identifier may bedisposed on the Internet user's computer for each and quickdetermination of the geographic location of the Internet user in thefuture.

[0023] A system for estimating the geographic location of an Internetuser is also disclosed. The system includes a database having respectivebusiness geographic location information for a plurality of Internetsites, a means for tracking the Internet sites that the Internet uservisits to define a plurality of visited Internet sites, and a means forcorrelating the Internet user's geographic location to the businessgeographic location information obtained from the visited Internetsites.

[0024] The means for correlating the Internet user's geographic locationmay include a system to compare the visited Internet sites with theInternet site information contained within the database to find acorresponding match. If the visited Internet site is matched with anInternet site in the database, the visited Internet site's businessgeographic location is determined to be the same as the businessgeographic location information contained within the database for thatrespective, matched visited Internet site. The means for correlating mayalso include a means for quantitatively determining a most populargeographic location by quantitatively prioritizing the businessgeographic location information of the visited Internet sites. As such,the business geographic location with the most visited Internet sites isprioritized the highest.

[0025] In an embodiment, the means for tracking the Internet sites theInternet user visits includes calculating the time the Internet userspends on each respective site and disposing a cooking on the computersystem that the Internet user is using to access the Internet.

[0026] The matter set forth in the foregoing description is offered byway of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particularembodiments have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the broader aspects of applicant's contribution and invention. Theactual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in thefollowing claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on anyprior art.

1. A method of estimating an internet user's geographic location,comprising: tracking the Internet user's visits to at least one Internetsite promoting a business having a business geographic location therebydefining a visited Internet site; determining the business geographiclocation of the business promoted by the visited Internet site therebydefining a matched business location; and estimating the Internet user'sgeographic location to be at least adjacent to the matched businesslocation.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprisingproviding a database having business geographic location information fora plurality of Internet sites.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 2wherein the business geographic location information is determined by anoperator of each respective Internet site.
 4. The method as claimed inclaim 2 wherein the step of determining the business geographic locationof the business promoted by the visited Internet site includes matchingthe visited Internet site to an Internet site in the database therebydefining a matched Internet site and defining the matched businesslocation to be the respective business geographic location of thematched Internet site.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein thematched business location is determined by calculating the businessgeographic location most often matched.
 6. The method as claimed inclaim 5 wherein the step of tracking the Internet user's visits to atleast one Internet site having a business geographic location includestracking the amount of time the Internet user remains on the Internetsite.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the step of trackingthe Internet user's visits to at least one Internet site having abusiness geographic location includes disposing a cookie having a uniqueidentifier on a computer system that the Internet user is using toaccess the Internet.
 8. The method as claimed in claim 7 furthercomprising providing an Internet user database for recording the matchedbusiness location and correlating it to the cookie.
 9. A method ofestimating an Internet user's geographic location, comprising: providinga database having respective business geographic location informationfor a plurality of Internet sites; tracking the Internet user's visitsto a plurality of Internet sites thereby defining a plurality of visitedInternet sites; matching at least one visited Internet site to anInternet site in the database thereby defining a matched businessgeographic location; comparatively determining the matched businessgeographic location having the most matches thereby defining a mostpopular business geographic location; and estimating the Internet user'sgeographic location to be adjacent to the most popular businessgeographic location.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 9 wherein anoperator of the respective Internet site determines the businessgeographic location information.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 9wherein the step of tracking the Internet user's visits to a pluralityof Internet sites includes tracking the amount of time the Internet userremains on the Internet site.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 11wherein the step of tracking the Internet user's visits to a pluralityof Internet sites includes disposing a cookie having a unique identifieron a computer system that the Internet user is using to access theInternet.
 13. The method as claimed in claim 12 further comprisingproviding an Internet user database for recording the most popularbusiness geographic location and correlating it to the cookie.
 14. Asystem for estimating the geographic location of an Internet user,comprising: a database having respective business geographic locationinformation for a plurality of Internet sites; a means for trackingInternet sites that the Internet users visits, thereby defining aplurality of visited Internet sites; and a means for correlating theInternet user's geographic location to the business geographic locationinformation obtained from the visited Internet sites.
 15. The system asclaimed in claim 14 wherein the means for tracking Internet sitesincludes disposing a cookie on a computer system that the Internet useris using to access the Internet.
 16. The system as claimed in claim 15wherein the means for estimating the Internet user's geographic locationincludes a system for matching each visited Internet site with anInternet site in the database and assigning each visited Internet sitethe respective corresponding business geographic location informationfor the matched Internet site in the database.
 17. The system as claimedin claim 16 wherein the means for estimating the Internet user'sgeographic location further includes a system for quantitativelydetermining a most popular geographic location.
 18. The system asclaimed in claim 17 a means for estimating the Internet user'sgeographic location includes a system for estimating the Internet user'sgeographic location to be the most popular geographic location.
 19. Amethod of providing Internet search results based upon the estimatedgeographic location of an Internet user, comprising: providing adatabase having respective business geographic location information fora plurality of Internet sites; tracking the Internet user's visits to aplurality of Internet sites thereby defining a plurality of visitedInternet sites; matching at least one visited Internet site to anInternet site in the database thereby defining a matched businessgeographic location; comparatively determining the matched businessgeographic location having the most matches thereby defining a mostpopular business geographic location; estimating the Internet user'sgeographic location to be adjacent to the most popular businessgeographic location thereby defining an Internet user location;receiving an Internet search request from the Internet search user; anddisplaying search results for Internet sites having a geographicbusiness location adjacent to the Internet user geographic location. 20.The method as claimed in claim 19 wherein the step of tracking theInternet user's visits to a plurality of Internet sites includesdisposing a cookie having a unique identifier on a computer system thatthe Internet user is using to access the Internet.
 21. The method asclaimed in claim 20 further comprising providing a database forrecording the Internet user location and correlating it to the cookie.22. The method as claimed in claim 19 wherein the step of displayingsearch results for Internet sites having a geographic business locationadjacent to the Internet user location includes prioritizing the searchresults based upon the amount of money each respective Internet site iswilling to pay for being displayed.
 23. The method as claimed in claim22 wherein the amount of money each respective Internet site is willingto pay for being displayed includes a pay-per-click bidding system. 24.A method of displaying geographically relevant Internet search resultsbased upon the geographic location of an Internet user, comprising:providing a database having respective business geographic locationinformation for a plurality of Internet sites; determining thegeographic location of the Internet user; receiving an Internet searchrequest from the Internet search user; and displaying search results forInternet sites having a geographic business location adjacent to thegeographic location of the Internet user.
 25. The method as claimed inclaim 24 wherein the step of providing a database having respectivebusiness geographic location information for a plurality of Internetsites includes allowing the Internet site operator specify the businessgeographic location information.
 26. The method as claimed in claim 24wherein the step of determining the geographic location of the Internetuser includes the Internet user manually specifying the geographiclocation of the Internet user.